Locomotive Breath
Locomotive Breath was an Archaicon in the Transformers: Extinction fanon. Overview One of the earlier recruits initiated by Misanthropy into the fledgling ranks of the Archaicons, Locomotive Breath is a being dominated by his sense of honour and his strict adherence to the precepts of and , a legacy which he was to pass down those amongst the Archaicons with whom he served, along with a portion of his considerable prowess in these arts. Origin Originally hailing from Nova Cronum, his martial pride was instilled within him almost from the day he was budded, through decades of rigorous training as part of the Inner Circle, a group of twelve soldiers designated as the personal bodyguard for the Governor of the city, who at this time was the introverted Ex Officio. Locomotive Breath excelled in this capacity, and was soon promoted to lead the Inner Circle, effectively becoming the second most powerful individual within the city-state. During the wave of arsons known as the Days of Fire, it was Locomotive Breath who was able to track down and apprehend the arsonist, a political activist from Vos, named Red Shift, who it was feared would soon attack the Governor’s headquarters in an assassination attempt. Thinking his act of heroism would be fondly remembered, Locomotive Breath was horrified to discover that the arsonist was to be simply extradited to his home city, to take part in the war that was raging between Vos and Tarn. Justice Disgusted by this event, which he saw as an affront to every aspect of his martial training, he called a meeting between all of the Inner Circle bodyguards, who shared his outrage. Together, they pointed the blame for what they considered an embarrassing spectacle at Ex Officio, and stormed his personal chambers as one, presenting the Governor with an ultimatum – either stand down, or be put down. Although introverted and reclusive, Ex Officio had once been an Inner Circle guard himself, and was unable to bring himself to simply surrender to such a demand. Instead, he attacked those confronting him, slaying two before they could react. Locomotive Breath was the first to respond, grappling the raging Governor to the ground with relative ease, subduing him whilst another of the rebels beheaded him with a ceremonial blade. Holding aloft the Governor’s severed head, Locomotive Breath emerged onto the palace’s balcony, which overlooked the city centre, and announced to the crowds that his men had delivered them from failure and weakness. Aftermath However, instead of being hailed as patriots, the surviving ten members of the Inner Circle were swiftly rounded up by the armed forces, and court-martialled in what amounted to little more than a kangaroo court. By some small miracle, though, they were able to escape execution, instead being exiled forever from Nova Cronum for crimes against the state. Most of the others fled to Polyhex, Kaon and Iacon, were their warrior skills would be the most useful, but Locomotive Breath took it upon himself to leave Cybertron entirely, eventually making a living as a hired sword, his skills seeing him emerge victorious from some of the most brutal battles the galaxy has seen. As his reputation grew, word of this perfect solider – unwaveringly loyal, unflinchingly honourable, and trained in arcane martial arts – reached Misanthropy aboard his flagship World's End, who sought out the knight at once. Locomotive Breath, upon clapping eyes on Misanthropy, recognised right away the leader he had failed to find in Ex Officio, one who knew the value of loyalty, devotion and honour. Without a second thought, Locomotive Breath pledged his allegiance to the Archaicons, eager to learn of Unicron and the teaching which had inspired such admirable qualities in his new leader, whilst Misanthropy was keen to be trained in the ways of the martial arts which Locomotive Breath had come to master. Death Locomotive Breath was to meet his end on the world of Vertox Quintus, a barren desert world, once a sprawling ecumenopolis, reduced by a global nuclear war into little more than an endless expanse of concrete dust and fallout ash. An unexplained impulse had told Misanthropy to guide his flagship, the World's End, towards the planet’s northern pole, for reasons unknown. Navigating the wreckage of an orbital dogfight, the cruiser reached its destination, finding an Autobot battalion approaching a pinned-down squad of Decepticon salvagers. Relishing the prospect of a fight, and realising that Unicron had sent him here, Misanthropy ordered three of those on board the starship to join him in making planetfall, Locomotive Breath amongst them. The ensuing battle was fierce, and bloody, with the elite Archaicons managing to butcher a significant portion of the Autobot forces, who were surprised at the savagery of the interlopers. The beleaguered Decepticon platoon quickly joined the fray, and by the following sunrise, the Autobots had been broken, fleeing back to their base camp. Misanthropy, seeing that over half of the squad had survived, looked around for his men, finding Locomotive Breath lifeless upon a mound of the bodies of those who had slain him. Taking the noble warrior’s body upon the World's End, he imparted the wisdom of Unicron to the surviving Decepticons, who identified themselves as the squadron Gothika Mortiis, seeing in their eyes the flicker of devotion beginning to form as they were converted to worshipping the World Eater. Locomotive Breath currently resides in the crypts of the Fortress of Solitude, his tomb the most ornate and well-tended of all of those located there, a fitting testament to the respect he was able to inspire in life, and to the legacy he has left behind him. Category:Characters Category:Transformers: Extinction Category:Males